Strong and Stubborn

Strong and Stubborn by Kelly Eileen Hake
4/5 stars
Barbour, 2012
311 pages
Inspirational Historical Romance
Book #3

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Rugged and Relentless and Tall, Dark, and Determined, of course I had to finish the trilogy! And I'm so glad I did as Naomi's story ended up being my favorite. I think this is because of my deep fondness for her as someone sensible who tries to hide in the background even though she shines.

This book again overlaps with the end of the previous book, quickly integrating the male romantic interest Michael Strode into the Hope Falls community as he steps up to help rescue Lacey and Dunstan from the mine cave-in. His dedication to helping out and skills in carpentry earn him a place and he quickly falls for Naomi, as who wouldn't? But both have secrets to hide.

Naomi has a tortured relationship with her sister that is further fractured when said sister shows up in town to drive a spike into her sister's heart (figuratively but I wouldn't put it past the girl to do so literally). Her malice was incredible and heart-breaking. Meanwhile Michael was essentially bought by his in-laws to give their fallen daughter the protection of his name and he is still fighting the guilt from this bad first marriage. The two have their secrets and they're aren't fully addressed in the book although I trust that the two will work it out behind the scenes as the ending is very rushed.

Another change that was rushed was Braden Lyman, who has been a HUGE jerk for the previous two books as well as for about 250 pages of this book. The last 50-ish pages finally show him starting to wise up but it was just not enough time to redeem him after the way he behaved like such a massive jerk earlier.

There also weren't enough scenes of all four ladies interacting, which was my favorite part of Rugged and Relentless but that's understandable as the ladies continue to put their efforts toward building the town as well as building lives with their chosen partners. The men who aren't chosen continue to be lovably adorable or jerks in need of reminding the score.

Overall: A sweet conclusion to the stories; very similar in structure to the other books (rushed resolution especially). I think it can be read out of order but is probably best enjoyed in order.

Tall, Dark, and Determined

Tall, Dark, and Determined by Kelly Eileen Hake
Barbour, 2011
319 pages
Christian Historical Romance
3/5 stars
Second in Husbands for Hire series

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has its first chapter introducing a new character, the male lead, and then it switches back to refresh the reader about what happened at the end of the first book, Rugged and Relentless. This was a little confusing for me but it soon moved in a new direction, starting the new story. Unfortunately I did not really like that story for most of the book although the ending helped a little.

The focus in this book is on Lacey Lyman, whose idea it had been to travel West with her three closest friends to nurse her brother back to help, to find good husbands, and to build a successful saw mill town.  Lacey loves to wear beautiful clothes and bristles at being treated as if she is a delicate female incapable of doing anything, as many men are wont to treat her.  As this is a romance, she does have a male opposite, hunter Chase Dunstan who suspects Lacey's brother of mischief and arrives with false intentions. They two instantly clash and continue clashing.

I was almost completely in Lacey's camp on this one. Chase is arrogant, rude, and overbearing; additionally I, as the reader, knew what secrets he was hiding, and did not appreciate his false cover. I hated knowing that Lacey was falling for him as he did not seem deserving. I also thought he was rather cruel. To compound my dislike of his character, nothing much seemed to be happening. They were just walking around Hope Falls, bickering all the time. I could have stomached, that had there been more scenes with the ladies together, which is what had enchanted me about the first book.

This was going to get a much lower rating despite the smooth writing and easy reading until the ending when there's a bit of suspense and I almost became reconciled to Dunstan.  I must say it is bothersome that two of the women fall for men who arrived under false pretenses. Can't one of them just be honest? Presumably there will be a third book with Naomi, a character I would love to get to know more and hopefully her love interest will be more honest.

Also despite its publication from Barbour, I didn't feel much Christian content. Now I don't want to be preached at of course, but God was not much of a presence, receiving only a few token mentions.

Overall: Mostly boring with an unpleasant male lead until the last dozens of pages when something finally happens and moves the character development along.

Rugged and Relentless

Rugged and Relentless by Kelly Eileen Hake
Barbour, 2011
317 pages
Inspirational Romantic Historical
4/5 stars
First in Husbands for Hire Series

Source: Received a free e-copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Page

Summary: Evie Thompson and her three best friends move to the wilds of Colorado looking to recover lost money, nurse their friend back to health, and claim husband for themselves.  Thus they come up with the idea to place an advertisement and hire for husbands.  They get more than they bargained for as two dozen men descend on the small town.  Jake is haunted by the death of his brother, promising vengeance, and by the cooking of a beautiful young lady back East.  Imagine his surprise when he discovers her in Colorado surrounded by other men who might marry her.  As he looks for his brother's killer, he also has a bit of time for courting the spirited Miss Thompson...who may or may not allow him to.

In short, I loved this book.  It was absolutely delightful and I flew through it, putting off homework in order to read just a few more pages.  While the basic premise seems to be a romance, it's actually more about friendship especially among the four ladies.  Evie, her sister Cora, friend Lacey and Lacey's cousin Naomi had a strong friendship.  They were able to formulate this plan and their strengths complement each other well.  While Evie is the main focus, the book shifts perspectives to all of them.  I will be very interested to see their stories in the later books.

They faced many obstacles.  One of those was Braden, Lacey's brother and Cora's fiancee although he attempted to end the engagement after his near-death and subsequent injuries.  Despite being confined to bed, he still attempts to act very high-handedly and to order them around.  Jake is another obstacle as he sees the dangers of four lovely ladies surrounded by approximately twenty-four not always honorable men, eager for female companionship.  He and Evie sure had sparks and multiple confrontations that revealed their characters and helped them fall more in love!

Then there is the man who killed Jacob's brother who is part of the camp although he is a wily one for sure.  The resolution of this storyline was very rushed and not entirely satisfying although I did like the final confrontation.

The historical elements were another pleasant part.  The ladies are not conventional, as you can see by their move across country, but they are still confined by societal norms.  They wear corsets, tend to stick to "womanly" pursuits, and frequently have men interfering as if they know best.  Luckily the women are spirited and they argue and push back in lively conversations.  I chuckled more than a few times at the way they interacted with language in conversations with Braden and Jake.

While I've seen it shelved as Christian fiction, I found those elements minimal.  Evie relies on the Lord and Jake grows a bit in that regard but it's not as overt as others I've read.  It did not impede my enjoyment in the least but other people may find that disappointing.

Overall: Delightful-highly recommended!

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